The Janus Dilemma
by BerserkMonster
Summary: In a city called Cathedral, the heroes known as The Four Dragons have kept the peace. But now they face a new threat, one that could impact not just their city, but the world. And to beat it, they most cross lines they never even knew existed... -AU-
1. Welcome to Cathedral

Welcome to Cathedral

From a name like Cathedral, you'd think it was a religious city. Well, it was, originally. Founded by pioneers coming to the new world, Cathedral was where one of the first American Catholic churches was founded, though nowadays you can find everything from Buddhists to atheists here. The name stuck, though, and Cathedral went from a small town to a towering metropolis. Skyscrapers compete for closest to the sky, the streets aren't always safe and the rich run the poor in their self-made rat maze, but this is, after all, a city. Everybody middle-class and lower is packed together, and nobody knows why he or she stays, but they do. For whatever reason, they keep staying, and they keep clawing their ways up the social ladder. Unless you own a Porsche, you have good reason to fear walking home at night. Cathedral is lucky, though. It's got the Dragons.

The Four Dragons, or, as they were known in the olden days, The Elements Four, are the protectors of Cathedral. Each generation gets new people in the same roles as their Dragons, and each time a Dragon is replaced, their powers are somehow passed on to the next elemental taking their place. The costumes differ but never change too much, (supposedly the Wind Dragon went crazy with neon during the 70's,) though the names tend to change. The current Dragons, all teenagers with a long time as heroes ahead of them, chose their own names and costumes.

The leader and Dragon of Wind goes by Vento. I'm pretty sure that's Portuguese for Wind, since he seems to be Brazilian and all. Not incredibly original, but from what I know, he's not exactly a creative thinker. The guy likes soccer and flirting from the Dragon of Fire. The Dragon in question goes by Blaze, an old name and a new costume. It's very Sailor Moon, trust me. The Dragon of Water goes by Aqueous, and he seems to be the youngest of the Four. The name's kind of weird, but I guess it can't be helped. If he were a girl, he probably would've taken on the last Water Dragon's name, Undine, but it's not quite right for a guy. And then we have Earthshaker, whose element should be obvious. He's quieter than the others, and a bit scarier. He's got this cool trenchcoat-cape thing that screws with your eyes and makes him look like he's always standing in a pool of shadow.

They protect Cathedral, along with our average lines of defense, like policemen and firefighters. The CCPD have their work cut out for them, though. The Four Dragons can only do so much, since they're usually occupied with the supervillains of the city. Nutjobs like Dyris and that Jack Spicer guy flock from everywhere. Cathedral doesn't get the worst of it, Gotham does, but it can be pretty bad. At least there's almost never murder when the supers are involved. (_Almost_ never.) The police department's pretty corrupt, but they'll take what they can get. The underground is filled with drug dealers, Cathedral's very own brand of mafia, gangsters, mobsters and thugs, all trying to make names for themselves.

And who am I? Oh, I'm flattered you care. Well, I'm nobody special. I've had several identities before and since I came to Cathedral, all of them fake. Except for one, but that's a secret I'll wait to give to you. Stay with me until the story's over, and them maybe I'll tell you. Maybe. But I have fought the Four for many years now. I came here when I was seventeen, and I'm twenty-four now. Seven years of fighting. They've known me as Sabotage, Witch, Hex and, most recently, Inque. (You say it like ink, doofus.) See, they have the power to control their respective element, and, at the moment, I have the power to bring ink to life. No, I was not bitten by a radioactive spider and I'm just as much a Kryptonian as the Flash. I'm my own special brand of magic, but the Dragons don't need to know that. I'm a witch, a liar, a cheat, a thief and everything in-between. You might even say that I'm a… changeling, of sorts. Heh.

So, welcome to Cathedral. Here's hoping you have a pleasant stay, 'cause chances are, you're not getting out alive.

**A/N: Here we go! A few things before I leave you. I didn't put this in the crossover category only because I know that it would get more exposure in the normal section. I'd like to thank Spadefire, (my real-life best friend,) for beta-ing this for me. I couldn't have done it without you, Spadey! This is actually a collaboration between us, using her character and mostly my writing. Those of you who read her works should recognize said character soon enough. She's helping out a **_**ton**_**, though, so big thanks to Spade! Please review- neither of us could come up with a good title, so any ideas would be appreciated once the story gets rolling- and keep watching for my next update. Thank you!**


	2. Sneakthief

Sneakthief

**A/N: All right, chapter two! Thanks to Spadefire, Xiaolin Fan, ColossalRay, crytvo keeper and TheXGrayXLady for your reviews! To answer Xiaolin Fan's request, there will indeed be Raikim, though it may be a few chapters later. Mooching off of Spadefire's popularity certainly seems to be working! In this one, I will be focusing on Raimundo's perspective. And now, our story really begins…**

Raimundo Pedrosa took a deep breath and sighed. The air above his city was cold and polluted, but it still felt like home. He sat on a gargoyle, the stone creature leering over the roof of one of the banks that dotted the city. Night patrol often meant crisscrossing over the facilities that held any money; thieves were as common as sirens here. And while thieves didn't pay any attention to Raimundo, they paid plenty to Vento. His costume was far simpler than the others'. A beanie, a simple dark blue mask, a white t-shirt under a light blue vest, jeans and sneakers. The Crest of the Condor was on his arm, and the Blade of the Nebula hung at his side, but other than that, he looked almost thuggish. People had sometimes said that looked too street to be a superhero, but he liked it that way. And it worked; nobody ever recognized him in his daily life.

Sometimes it was hard to believe he was on a team with the other three Dragons. After all, their costumes didn't even look alike. Kimiko Tohomiko, or Blaze, had the Cat's Eye Draco on her right arm and the Arrow Sparrow tied around her waist, but her costume was more… superhero-esque than his. For lack of a better word. The arm that didn't have the Cat's Eye was bare, and her costume was comprised of a white top that reached up to her neck, and a skirt with black tights. White boots embellished with flames matched the fire running up the right side of her skirt and top, and her mask was a vibrant orange that, during the day, shimmered between red and gold. Omi, their Dragon of Water, wore simple blue monk robes with a wave pattern going across the stomach. His mask was like a ninja's, and matched the blue of his costume. On the sash on his waist was the Shimo Staff, and on his arm was the Kaijin Charm.

On the opposite side of the spectrum was Clay Bailey, Earthshaker. He wore a trenchcoat that acted like a cape, (nobody was sure how it worked, but it was really cool,) and a cowboy hat, both the same shade of dusty brown. His mask was black and simple. Under the coat was a pair of blue jeans, cowboy boots and a simple button-down shirt, on which the right arm was ripped off of to make room for the Longhorn Taurus. He kept that hidden under his coat, though, which only distanced him further from the others. He also had a utility belt, holding a lasso, the Big Bang Meteorang and other stuff that they frequently found helpful. For a guy that was pretty powerful on his own, he always carried it around. Raimundo had once joked about it being a security blanket, and had nearly gotten punched in the face.

Still, they functioned excellently as a team. On a regular basis they beat such villains as Jack Spicer, Katnappé, Chase Young, Wuya and Hannibal Bean. Cathedral was home to as many supervillains as it was heroes, and so they all took their jobs very seriously. Raimundo knew that just as well as the others did, but couldn't help goofing off from time to time. It was in his opinion that they needed to lighten up from time to time, and he did do a good job of getting Kimiko to calm down, including Omi in whatever they were doing and pulling Clay out of his shell. It was no wonder he was the team leader, even if he was a bit immature.

An alarm snapped the young man out of his thoughts, and he peered over the edge of the building to see a figure darting away, bags in hand. Considering the fact that the alarm was coming from the bank underneath him, Raimundo figured the bags were full of money. Wind swirling at his heels, he vaulted off the roof and started after the figure. Whoever he was chasing was fast, he'd give them that, but no one was faster than wind. In a matter of moments he caught up to them, then surpassed them, skidding to a halt to block off their escape. "I don't think that belongs to you," he said, wind swirling around him for dramatic effect.

"You want it so bad, you can have it," the person replied, throwing one of the sacks at him. Raimundo caught it with ease, smirk still in place. "You'll have to do better than-" A beeping noise cut him off, and he glanced down to see a small detonator attached to the bag. He gave a yelp and sent it flying, the bomb going off safely in midair. He sighed in relief, but turned to find the criminal already headed towards the docks. With a snarl, he propelled himself upward once more, pursuing the figure through Cathedral's alleys.

Turned out he wasn't the only one. Glancing down, he grinned at a familiar sight; Earthshaker and Blaze were following the person as well. If they had abandoned their patrol routes to catch up to them, then whatever the person had stolen must have been more than money. By the time they made it to the docks, the person had disappeared. Raimundo landed next to Blaze, glancing around for any sign of the pursued. "You see which way he went?" he asked.

"That wasn't a he," Earthshaker replied, kneeling down to put a hand on the concrete. "From the feel of their footsteps, that was a woman. Inque."

Blaze sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "If it is Inque, that raises even more questions. She normally only steals money- why go for an artifact?"

Raimundo raised an eyebrow. "I thought she came from the bank on 43rd and Clark. That's where I was when the alarm went off, anyway."

Blaze shook her head. "Well, yes and no. She stole something- we're not sure what yet- from the museum. Then she hit the bank, probably to throw us off. What she didn't know was that she tripped a silent alarm in the museum, so at least now we might have a leg up on her." Earthshaker stood and motioned for the others to stand still, then walked silently into the maze of crates, disappearing in the darkness. Raimundo shook his head after a moment, trading a glance with Blaze. "How does he even do that?"

Blaze shrugged. "I have no idea." Then he reappeared, frown deeper than before. "Well?"

He shook his head. "Aqueous was waitin' to cut her off should she get to the water. No such luck. She's either hiding or had an escape route we don't know about. Either way, we need to get back to the Citadel. Omi's gonna meet us there. Ah've got more questions than answers about this." He walked past, Blaze and Raimundo following.

From the darkness he had come from, another figure emerged, sack slung over their shoulder. The person smiled wickedly, turned in the direction of the Dragons, and disappeared into the murk.

* * *

><p>"What Inque stole was a talisman." The Dragons were in their headquarters, called Citadel, and were trying to find out what their culprit had taken. Blaze sat in front of a huge monitor, surrounded by several other, smaller screens, each one displaying information about Inque or the night's thefts. The thing she had stolen looked like an egg, golden and rough in texture. "It's linked back to Celtic lore about the creation of the world. She probably only took it to ransom it off or sell it on the black market, but we need to tread lightly. It's got the same roots as our Wudai Weapons and elemental Shen Gong Wu, so in the wrong hands, it's probably got the same effects. Only, you know, evil." The guys traded glances and thought of what destruction Shen Gong Wu had caused in the hands of their other enemies.<p>

"So now Inque is going after power instead of money?" Aqueous asked, scratching his head. He always removed his mask when he came back to Citadel, where he lived, and underneath he had no hair and nine dots on his forehead. "This is most peculiar. She has always sought after money and attention, has she not?"

"Okay. Let's think Inque. Since she's never gone after a Wu before, activated or not, what could her motives be?" Raimundo asked, leaning on the back of Blaze's chair and trying not to be overcome by how good her hair smelled. Like cherry blossoms. He shook his head and looked over the screens. Inque's past thefts, all of them monetary or her being paid to steal something for someone else, were displayed, as well as what they knew about the villainess. She had never killed anyone, but she had hospitalized Jack Spicer once, while they were fighting over a particularly large gem that had found it's way into the Cathedral Bank. The young woman was unlike most of their enemies in two respects. One, she seemed to straddle the fence between good and evil. She had never openly tried to hurt anyone, nor had she ever come after the Dragons. She had no qualms with being paid to steal, or with stealing to meet her own agenda. True, they were clueless as to the contents of that agenda, but she was one of their more morally bound villains, if one of the less sane.

Two, she had helped them before. Inque had been fighting them for years, under other names and costumes. When she first came to Cathedral, she was under the employment of a demolition company acting as a front for Chase Young. Back then, she was Sabotage, committing arson and wreaking havoc in a fireproof jumpsuit and gas mask. During her Sabotage years she had displayed no extraordinary abilities other than a macabre love of explosions. Then she had worked for Wuya as Witch, and later Hex, and had still exhibited nothing beyond using charms and spells through Shen Gong Wu. Two years ago she had struck out on her own as Inque, and this time she seemed to have a real power; the power to bring anything in ink or paint or even graphite to life. She worked with an accomplice, Scrawl, and as far as the Dragons could tell, he was one of her ink creations. Except he, unlike the others, which disappeared in a certain amount of time, stayed alive. But through all this, Inque had never gotten in the way of the Dragons helping others, and had, at several times, helped them get innocents out of the way. As Sabotage, she had never destroyed a building with people in it, and had never actually hurt anyone but the other superheroes and villains that got in her way.

So Inque taking something like the talisman meant that either someone was paying her to, or that she was doing it of her own free will. And with her past crimes, it was probably her own doings. She was certainly an accomplished burglar, thought Katnappé was far better. She was a good fighter, relying on her speed and weapons rather than skill. But… "If she gets a Wu, she could be incredibly dangerous," Raimundo finally said. "We need to take it back before she tries to commit any more thefts."

"Are you negative?" Aqueous asked. "We have never attempted to retrieve a Wu before. It is not even activated, as far as we know. Perhaps it would be best to let lying dogs sleep."

"Omi's got a point. I think. Maybe it'd be best to wait and see what Inque does with it," Blaze said, glancing back at the guys. Raimundo sighed and looked at Earthshaker. "Well?"

After a moment of silence, the Texan spoke. "… We don't even know what it does, and maybe she don't either. Mah vote goes with Kim an' Omi."

"Ugh! Fine," Raimundo cried, throwing up his hands. "Fine, you guys wanna let a known criminal get away with what could be a dangerous weapon, fine. But when it backfires horribly, don't come crying to me!" And with that, he left the room in a huff. The others looked after him for a moment, then traded glances.

"He probably won't do anything stupid. And if he does, we'll just beat him up," Blaze said, shutting off the computers and standing. "As for me, I'm going to bed. You guys should too. It's almost one in the morning." She left, followed by Earthshaker. Aqueous took one last look around the room and went after them, turning off the lights. Perhaps if he had stayed a few moments longer, he would have seen the shadows behind the monitors ripple and surge and become the silhouette of a man. Perhaps he would have been able to stop the ink-man from slinking over to the computers and pressing a hand against the USB ports, his fingers turning to fluid and pouring into the openings. Perhaps.

"Now, then," he whispered, a white line smile on the darkness that was his face. "Let's see what else you know."

**Looking into Inque's relationship with the Dragons before moving on. (Xialoin Fan, you are closer than you think.) Please review!**


	3. Rooftops and Trapdoors

Rooftops and Tunnels

**A/N: When I suggested making Clay kind of Batman-like, Spadefire pretty much had a fit. I present to you, as Spade put it, "an amalgam of the two most beastest people ever to be beast." So, there you have it. I'm not sure I captured that, but I tried. **

_Tik, tik, tik._ A young woman groaned and buried her head deeper in her pillow, short brown hair hiding her eyes. _Tik, tik, tik._ She yanked the blankets over her head, muttering angrily in a mishmash of languages. _THUNK._ With a jolt, her head shot up, and she stared out the window next to her bed. Nothing was there, and while most people would simply dismiss it as a bird and go back to sleep, she knew better. With an annoyed huff, she threw off the covers and strode to the window, yanking it up. After tugging on a pair of yellow-tinted goggles, she leaned out, upper half dangling four stories over the street, but she didn't seem to care.

"You have my attention." A rope fell down the side of the building, stopping right under her window. She groaned and rubbed her temples, murmuring something about killing the night owl. Then she grabbed the rope and shimmied up with a surprising ease. Once she made it to the top, she hauled herself over the side of the roof and turned to glare at the man who had sent the rope down. He had a cowboy hat and a trenchcoat that swirled around him, making him look as if he was standing in a patch of darkness. "Well?" the woman asked, crossing her arms. "You bring me up here at three AM and have nothing to say to me?"

"What are you planning?" he asked in a freezing voice like dry gravel, with a Southern kind of heaviness.

"It's not what _I'm_ planning, Earthshaker," she said, glancing over the city. "It's what the Heylin are planning, and what I'm doing to stop them." Earthshaker raised an eyebrow behind the mask, and stepped closer.

"Since when have you ever cared about stoppin' them?" he asked, looking her in the eyes. "You've been on their payroll enough to not want 'em gone."

"And you've known where I am for years now, but you haven't turned me in," she replied, sneering.

"That's 'cause Ah know ya an' Ah know why ya steal. Takin' from the rich to give to the poor is great an' all, but this is different. Ya cain't just take museum artifacts an' expect me not to do something about it." The woman whirled around to face him, her face a mask of fury.

"Well, I do expect you to not do something! The Heylin need that, and you and the others can't protect it like I can!" She lowered her voice to a whisper after glancing around the rooftop, then turned and jabbed him in the chest. "Spicer's stolen from that vault of yours enough for me to doubt your security, and the museum won't do a better job. As it stands, I'm the only thing between the Heylin and the destruction of the city, maybe the world." Then she paused and closed her eyes for a moment. "_When the sun goes black, and the moon blood red, and the stars fall from the sky, the word of God in the Bible says, we're living in the end times._"

Earthshaker gently pushed her away and replied. "Okay. So why cain't you come to us? Whatever it is, the others can lissen an Ah can vouch for ya." The woman sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, trying to work out the stiffness that plagued it.

"That's 'cause I know you an' I know why you help. You guys are what keeps the Heylin Corporation from wiping out the lower classes, which is great. But the Heylin won't go against one of their own, no matter how much Chase and Wuya bribe or threaten, so that keeps me safe. And I can't tell you because I was in the right place at the wrong time, and when I found out about it, Wuya hexed me. I can't tell you what they're planning until after it's been set in motion. All I can say is that right now, you need to trust me and keep the others off my back until I can get the artifact out of the country and into safer hands." Earthshaker waited to reply, and for a moment, the woman was afraid he didn't believe her. But when he did, her fears were assuaged.

"… Alright. Ah'll do what Ah can. But Inque," he added, his tone turning somber, "if Ah find out ya lied t' me…"

"I've never lied to you before. Why start now?" The question was rhetorical, but it made the man crack a grim smile. Inque ran a hand through her hair and sighed, looking over the city. "Cathedral is my city just as much as it is yours, cowboy. I'll help the people that you can't, but I'm not gonna be a hero. It's just not in me."

Slowly, Earthshaker nodded. "Alright. That's all Ah wanted to know. Stay outta trouble, now." Inque laughed and climbed back into her window. "Stay outta trouble… and they say you have no sense of humor." Earthshaker rolled his eyes and retrieved his rope, heading back to his house.  
>Inque shut the window behind her, heaving a sigh as she removed her goggles. "Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the trouble," she muttered, tossing them onto her bedside table.<p>

"You and me both." She jumped at the voice, and then turned to glare at the speaker. The man from before stood, leaning against the doorway and grinning. "Scare you?"

"No, no, I have heart attacks on a daily basis," Inque muttered, glowering at him. Then she sighed again and straightened up. "So. Any more info?"

"Nothing we didn't already know. Though they may have discovered some correlations between the egg and the other artifacts the Heylin are taking, they haven't even realized the importance of this one." Inque chuckled and rubbed her face, flopping onto the bed. The person in the doorway stepped into the room, light reflecting off of him. He appeared to be comprised of a black fluid that was continually shifting, but never drastically changing shape. That shape was one of a well-built man, the only visible features being two white eyes and a line for a mouth that opened into a vast whiteness when he spoke. "We'll go on as planned, then?"

"We will indeed, Scrawl. We're just gonna have to hope they won't find out about it themselves so they don't do anything stupid like try to find and steal back the egg. That could ruin everything." Inque yawned and pulled the covers over her head again. A muffled "G'night," came from under the sheets, and Scrawl gave a small smile. He went to sit in a chair by the desk adjacent to the bed, leaning back and closing his eyes. Soon, both of them were soundly asleep, unaware of the events transpiring above them. They should have stayed awake.

* * *

><p>"Are we there yet?" Raimundo's words were snatched away by the gale-force winds leading him onwards, but not before the device in his hand caught them.<p>

"Hey, you wanna find the talisman by yourself, be my guest. Tracking takes time, y'know," the thing said, and Raimundo rolled his eyes. What he held looked much like a PDA, but it was far more powerful. It was DOJO, the Dragon's very own Shen Gong Wu tracking device. It- or, rather, he- had been created Grandmaster Dashi, one of the first Dragons. And apparently, Dashi had gone a tad overboard with the artificial intelligence programming. DOJO had a real personality, as far as any of the Four were concerned- a snarky coward, but a protector as well. And a good friend, even if his jokes were almost as bad as Raimundo's. In any case, DOJO was incredibly helpful when it came to finding the Shen Gong Wu scattered throughout the city and world.

Though none of the Four Dragons would admit it, the Wu were what helped grant them their powers. They could control the elements without them, but the Wu helped keep them in control until they learned how to truly master them. Also, the Wu helped them do things they normally couldn't, like shrink or see through walls. So in the wrong hands, the Wu could cause chaos big-time. The majority of their battles had, in fact, been over the artifacts. Their most recurrent enemy was Jack Spicer, a sociopath with an inkling of a conscience. They also often faced the Heylin Corporation, a crime syndicate masquerading as a humanitarian organization coupled with an oil baron or two, headed by Chase Young, playboy billionaire CEO and weekend sorcerer/dragon creature, and his right-hand woman, Wuya, a cunning, backstabbing witch who, for whatever reason, Chase kept employed despite the multiple times she had gone against him. Aqueous rattled off some ancient proverb about enemies and ties, Blaze had said that they loved each other and evil people backstab those they love, and Earthshaker had ignored him and gone off to read or rope cattle or whatever it was he did when he vanished. Raimundo figured Chase wanted to keep his friends close and his enemies closer, but that was none of his business. Smashing Chase's face in every chance he could was.

"Two blocks left." Raimundo veered west and landed on top of a dilapidated apartment building.

"You sure this is the place, DOJO?" he asked, glancing around. The roof looked grungy and ready to collapse at any moment, and he could say the same for the rest of the building.

"You bet. It's a good hundred meters underneath you, though. So start digging." Raimundo put the handheld in his pocket and headed to the door that lead to the building's stairwell. Unsurprisingly, it was unlocked. He walked down, floating past the parts where the stairs looked less than safe, or where rats that were way too big to be rats were eating squirmy things. Suddenly, he felt a strong surge of thankfulness for his nice, clean, mutant-rat-free home. Then again, it might have been gas.

"Okay, this is the bottom floor. Where do I go from here?" he asked, pulling DOJO back out. He stood in the middle of what was once a lobby, with the reception desk missing it's right half and all the windows smashed. Glass and beer bottles littered the floor, as well as garbage and small animal bones. Luckily, it seemed to be devoid of rats of unusual size.

"Let's see… five feet north." Raimundo did so, stepping over a maggot-infested carcass. "Now ten feet east." He found himself at the reception desk. "Now do the Macarena!"

"DOJO, cut it out! I want to get outta here as soon as I can," Raimundo hissed, glancing around. He had just noticed the spiderwebs in every corner. Big ones. "Why is it that only the creepy-crawlies drink from the radioactive sewage? Why can't it be puppies? Cute, harmless puppies that get even cuter with the radiation? That's all I ask."

"Sure thing, champ. I have no idea what that means, but hey, why not." Raimundo rolled his eyes as the machine continued. "There should be a trapdoor of some kind in front of you."

"Dude, there's nothing here but a beat-up old…" Then it clicked. The reception desk was torn in half, hollow on the inside and made to look like it was just a nest for the rats and spiders. He could see that it disappeared into darkness, but it looked just like it stopped at the wall it was attached to. Nobody in his or her right mind would touch it, much less try and crawl into it. Noticing that there was, in fact, a tiny skull next to it, Raimundo shuddered and dropped down to his hands and knees. "If you're wrong about this, I'm gonna kill you."

"You can't. I'm a machine."

"You know what I mean."

**Uh-oh. Where does the tunnel lead? Will Vento find what Inque stole? Is Inque lying to Earthshaker? Who **_**is**_** Inque? What is she planning? Can the Four Dragons stop it in time? Do they need to? Find out in the next installment of The Janus Dilemma! … And, honestly, we could really use title ideas. This one kind of stinks. Review!**


	4. Something Stolen

Something Stolen

**Thanks to XBoneX, Xiaolin Fan and TheXGrayXLady for reviewing. You're all beyond sweet! And to TheXGrayXLady, yes, that is Chuya. They're probably my OTP for the fandom. Here's where the Heylin are introduced, and where we find out that Inque might not be on the side of good. **

Chase Young sat at the head of a conference table, surveying and listening with a steely gaze. The man looked young, not a day over 25, but his sheer presence commanded respect and attention. Night-black hair that ran to his back, cruel gold eyes and a smile that could make a crocodile shudder. He was always dressed sharply, and only rarely was he seen in something other than a suit and tie. His right-hand woman, Wuya, was equally cunning and less honorable. Red hair that ran untamed, eyes like chips of jade and strange markings under her eyes. No one ever asked about them because, rumor had it, the last person to do so had never been heard from again. She dressed in blazers and pencil skirts, always black, and heels. Not only was she Chase's personal secretary, she was also his bodyguard, though it was only for public purposes. In reality, Chase was more than capable of ridding himself of attackers, but he knew that dark sorcery just didn't get the popularity votes it used to.

The man who had been speaking finished, and Chase stood. "Very good. Now that we've heard Mr. Silver's plans for our offworld enemies, we can focus on this dimensional plane. Mr. Blake?" he asked, glancing at a young brunette man. The man stood and looked at a stack of papers in his hands.

"Ahem. We're under our quota for water filters and damages in Eastern Africa will halt any delivery. The penicillin shipments will also be delayed, perhaps for weeks."

Chase nodded. "Excellent. Go on."

"Also, we've gotten another oil pocket in Alaska, under a nature reserve. Some finagling with memory charms should get us access, if you'll just sign off on some paperwork."

"I'll have Wuya look over it. Good job, everyone, for another productive quarter. If you have any questions, submit them to Wuya and she'll filter the important ones to me," he said, his smile as icy as his voice. "Anything I've forgotten?"

"Monsieur?" a blonde man in the back said, raising his hand tentatively. "Zee Heylin Corporation eez s-supposed to be a humanitarian company, eez eet not?" Chase stared holes in the man for a second, before glancing around the table.

"He's new," explained Mr. Silver.

"I can see that. Someone please explain to me why I shouldn't just rip him limb from limb as an example?" he asked calmly, as though he was simply asking about the weather. The blonde man's eyes widened, and he shrank back.

"Mr. Valliere is our ambassador to France," said a dark-skinned woman near the front of the table. "He is in the unique position of having a direct familial relationship to two of the members of the French Parliament. He will prove useful should we have any trouble with the reserves in Europe."

"I see." Chase turned back to the man, who was scared, confused and very eager to get out of the room. "Well, Mr. Valliere, the Heylin Corporation does have mankind's best interest at heart, I assure you. But sometimes, to make a new, strong building, you must tear down the old one first. Many people blame the world's troubles on the government of one or two countries alone, not the countries as a collective. The true problem lies there, amongst the diverse principles and ideas of the world leaders. With all the conflicting ideas, the border disputes, the poverty in one nation next to a rich one, it is nearly impossible for the world to function. But if one man, one woman, one group of people ran the world, then the world could have peace. Religion and race would no longer matter, for everyone would be equal. Borders would disappear, we would all speak one language and have one big melting pot of history. If the world was one big country, there would be no more war, no more poverty, and everyone would get the same opportunities. Do you understand what I'm getting at, Mr. Valliere?"

"Um… oui?" he said weakly, giving a smile that was more like a grimace.

"You see, we work to raise the stakes, rather than lower them," said a Chinese man across from him. "No pain, no gain, after all."

"Our purpose is to heighten tensions until everyone collapses of weariness," continued Mr. Blake.

"And then they will have no choice but to hand over their countries to us," Wuya finished, smiling darkly. "We have been in operation for longer than you would think, Mr. Valliere. We have sleeper agents in places you wouldn't believe. If you do not wish to cooperate with our plan to help the world, you might end up regretting it."

"I suggest you think wisely," Chase said, sitting back down again. "We would hate to lose such a helpful connection."

Valliere gulped. "O-of course not, monsieur. I would be honored to 'elp your noble cause."

"Yes, I thought so. In that case, now that everything has been sorted out, you are all dismissed. I'll see you at next month's meeting. " Everyone stood, gathered their things, and walked out the doors. Once they closed for a final time, Chase glanced at Wuya, who was looking over a clipboard. "And of our agenda?"

"I'd say everything is proceeding accordingly, except…" she pulled out what appeared to be a newspaper clipping and handed it to him. "Someone got to the egg before us. And that someone could be anyone."

"Or it could be Inque." Chase glanced at the doors and narrowed his eyes. "She's on her way up now."

"I could take care of her," Wuya offered. "It would be simple to get the information from that child."

"Unfortunately, she is a wildcard, but we need her. We don't know she stole it, and her defenses are too great for a psychic probe. Besides, she has too much invested this to take it from us. No, we'll let her play her part, and see what comes from it. Other than the theft of our talisman, is everything else coming together?"

"Yes. All we need are our conduits, which we'll lure out easily enough, and then I'll finish tying up the spell. All I need for that are three things for each conduit- friend, foe and foundation."

"Easy enough. I'll dispatch a few of the outside agents to take care of that." Wuya nodded and wrote something down on the clipboard as the doors burst open. In strode a young woman, just over 21, with brown hair cropped boy-short and gelled to spike up in the front. She wore thin, copper-framed glasses over hazel eyes that were narrowed in annoyance. She also had a black leather jacket, under which she wore a black shirt with the Batman logo on it. Blue jeans and black boots completed the punkish look, as did the expression on her face. A flustered woman burst in behind her, looking too scared to stop her and too scared to just let her walk in.

"Mr. Young, I'm sorry, but she wouldn't take no for an answer-" Chase raised his hand and silenced the woman. "It's perfectly fine, Mrs. Haynes," he said. "She's on the list."

"Oh, yes, well. I, ah, I'll just go, then," she said, leaving the room in a flurry of embarrassment.

"What exactly are you tryin' to pull, Young?" the girl snarled, halting a foot away from Chance. He raised an eyebrow, but she was undaunted. "I go in to get that egg thing for you guys, and it's gone when I get there! Do you just not want me on your payroll, is that it? 'Cause if so, tell me and I'm gone. I could hack it in Gotham easy as I could here, so-"

"Miss O'Reiley, please, calm down," Chase said, gesturing to a chair. "Have a seat." The woman sat down with no small degree of irritation. "I didn't order anyone else to steal the talisman. I was assured you could do it."

"Yeah, well, I-" the woman paused and blinked. "Oh. Well, then… I won't get paid?"

"You'll get paid. But in the meantime, I need you to complete another assignment, along with Spicer, Katnappé, and Tubbimura." The woman's eyes grew dark and she glanced at Wuya, who didn't look up from her clipboard.

"You know I hate the human litterbox. I don't have to actually talk to her, do I?" she asked, crossing her arms. Chase rolled his eyes, but replied, "No, Miss O'Reiley. You don't. Just give the information I'm about to give you to Spicer and tell him to pass it on to the other two." Wuya placed an envelope on the table and Chase slid it over to the woman, who eyed it in a mixture of curiosity and distrust. "We have held back some- well, most- of the details of our plan. But if the Heylin Corporation is to wrest control of the world, we'll need you four to fully understand our plan if you're going to help us."

"… Yeah, okay. As long as I get a cut. Ireland, right?" Chase nodded and the woman grinned. "Swank. I'll get this to Jack. Oh, and will ya stop with the Miss O'Reiley? I prefer Inque." She headed back to the double doors, and had a hand on the handle before pausing and turning back around. "Then that means neither of you can see them, either."

"See who?" Wuya asked, her tone like that of someone addressing a two-year-old. The woman just grinned, the light glinting off her glasses to hide her eyes. "If you have to ask, there's no reason for me to tell you. I mean, really…" she sang as she left, her words floating through before the doors closed. "… Where's the fun in that?"

* * *

><p>"This is so gross!" Raimundo wailed. He was making his way through a tunnel under an old abandoned hotel, and was currently disgusted. It was pitch-black, and though it had gotten tall enough for him to stand up in, but it was going down, which was not where he wanted to go. As Dragon of Wind, he didn't like small, dark spaces or being underground. So he was pretty sure that Inque was having a good laugh at his expense. "This was a bad idea," he whimpered when he heard something move to his right. "This was a bad, bad, bad idea."<p>

"Actually, you're almost out of the tunnel," DOJO piped up. Raimundo reached into his pocket and pulled out the handheld device. "According to my readings, there's an open space just up ahead." Raimundo walked forward, and found that Dojo was right. When he felt the dirt under him change to concrete, he heard a click and lights flipped on. Unaccustomed to the brightness after being in the dark for so long, he cried out in pain as the light seared his eyes. His hands flew to his eyes, and DOJO clattered to the ground.

"Aagh! Give a guy a warning next time, huh?" he said, rubbing his eyes with his palms. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, _ow._ I am going to _kill_-" his train of thought crashed to a halt as he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was in a bunker, not too big, but large enough to house about five or six people. The floor and walls were concrete, and there was a trapdoor in the ceiling. The walls were lines with filing cabinets, except for where there was a door. After picking up DOJO, he tried to open the nearest filing cabinet, but found that it was locked. After trying several others, he found that they all were. Then he noticed something tacked to the door, and went to get a better look. The door itself was metal, and a small magnet kept a picture attached to it. On the picture were sixteen keys, all similar but none identical. Each one had a number, too, and then Raimundo realized what they were for. Inque must have drawn keys that matched the ones that unlocked the cabinets, then destroyed the originals. That way, only she could open them up by using her powers to bring the keys into the physical world. So, since he couldn't open them anyway, Raimundo decided to try his luck with the door.

It wasn't locked, and when Raimundo saw what was behind it, he thought it should be. Behind the door appeared to be a small vault, containing more filing cabinets. There was a small whiteboard on a wall above the cabinets, and when and in the back, a single, lit display case. Raimundo walked up to it, eyes widening when he realized what it was. "DOJO," he whispered, his breath fogging up the glass, "is that the talisman Inque stole?" The egg was more like an oval than a sphere, tapered on both ends. It wasn't smooth, either, but with a rocky golden shell.

"Yes," DOJO replied. "I've been running some analysis and searching for more information."

"I wondered why you were being so quiet. Well, what have you found out?" Raimundo asked, pulling out the device again.

"The talisman has no roots in Celtic folklore. The museum website Kimiko used to find that out had been given false information, but I can't trace where it was. Apparently, the egg isn't in any folklore at all. In fact, the museum wasn't even supposed to have it. It was supposed to go to the JLA." Raimundo paled. "It's actually a containment chamber, of sorts."

"What's it contain, then?" Raimundo asked, half afraid to find out.

"A being called Krona." He frowned and glanced around the room, eyes falling on the whiteboard. He walked over, trying to make sense of the scribbles. On the far left, there was a list of seemingly random things. _Helmet of Nabu, Norman McCay, circus gunman, conduits (check sources),_ and_ splicers_. Helmet of Nabu and circus gunman had been crossed out. Conduits had an arrow pointing from it to another list, but this one had their names. Under each name were the words _friend, foe_ and _foundation_. She had starred Earthshaker, and written under Raimundo's name _Jack_. Under Blaze was _Katnappé_ and under Aqueous was _Tubbimura_. On the far right, she had underlined the word _Deadman_ and written under it _Boston Brand, Spectre, Phantom Stranger, Black Lantern/White Lantern, Hanged Man (tarot) _and_ innocent?_ The Brazilian was only getting more confused.

"DOJO, what is all this?" he asked. "I can't make any sense of it."

"Neither can I. Hold me up and I'll take some pictures to analyze back at base." Raimundo held up DOJO and the machine snapped several pictures. Raimundo headed back towards the case, when DOJO stopped him. "Hey, wait just a minute, there! What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"I'm stealing back Krona's egg, duh," Raimundo said, kneeling down to find a weak spot in the case. "I can't just leave it here."

"But if you take it, Inque will know that you were here and she'll come after you," DOJO cried. "It would be better if you just left it."

"No way. Sorry, DOJO, but this is for the greater good. If it was supposed to go to the JLA, then I'll bet Chase Young got it to the museum instead so Inque could steal it for him." He paused. "Wait. Then… why would she keep it?"

"My sensors are picking up a human aboveground heading this way! Hurry up and get out of here!" DOJO cried. Raimundo glanced at the door, then at the case, and rolled his eyes. "Oh, forget it." Then he grabbed DOJO and smashed him into the case, shattering the glass but leaving the egg unscathed. He shoved DOJO into his pocket, ignoring his complaints about being used as a blunt weapon, and let the air in the room cocoon around the egg so he wouldn't have to touch it. For all he knew, it could be radioactive. Then he bolted out of the bunker, keeping the egg right in front of him. He burst out of the tunnel and flew through the broken glass. He didn't stop until he was several bocks away, landing on a roof that was considerably nicer than the one he had been on previously. He still didn't touch the egg, but examined it in the light of the rising sun.

"Okay. Let's get you someplace safer." With that, he flew back to the Citadel, thoroughly tired but victorious.

* * *

><p>"NO!" Inque's scream resonated through the bunker, making Scrawl wince. The woman tore through the room in a frenzy, looking for all the world like she was about to throttle someone. "They took it! <em>They took Krona!<em>" she screeched, kicking a filing cabinet. "How- how did they even find him? I took steps to make sure that this place was protected, I thought that they couldn't even find-"

"Inque, calm down!" Inque whirled around, glaring daggers at Scrawl.

"Never tell a woman to calm down!" she screamed, grabbing the front of his shirt and hauling him down to her eye level. "Do you know what they'll do to me? I'm dead! D-E-A-D! Dead!"

Scrawl gently removed her hands and stood straight again, keeping a firm grip on her wrists. "Inque, think it through. If the Heylin had found it, then they would have already attacked you, right?" Inque's breathing slowed down, and slowly, she nodded. "Right. So it must have been one of the Xiaolin that did it." Inque nodded again and Scrawl let her go. She glanced around the room, then back at Scrawl.

"Okay. Yeah. You're right. Of course you're right. It wouldn't be Earthshaker, because he's a man of his word, and he wouldn't have broken it unless he knew I was lying. And Aqueous wouldn't, because he's too honorable or whatever, and Blaze wouldn't, because she's too smart, so it must have been Vento." She punched her hand, eyes narrowing. "That figures." She turned to Scrawl, holding up the envelope Chase had given her. "Okay. Here's what we're gonna do…"

**So there is no honor among thieves after all. Either Inque's lying to Earthshaker or to the Heylin Corporation, but she's certainly telling no one the full truth. And now that you know her identity, (congrats, Xiaolin Fan!) her powers might make more sense. Or less so, depending. Please review!**


	5. Ballyhoo

Ballyhoo

**Hello, everyone, and thank you all so much for waiting for me like this. I've been incredibly busy, and I hadn't been able to get it touch with my co-author, Spadefire, but I'm back on track and ready to churn out the next couple of chapters. Thanks again!**

Kimiko Tohomiko awoke with a jolt. She sat up in bed, lightly brushing a hand to her forehead to check for a temperature. Though having a fire elemental caged inside her did make her have hot flashes every now and then, a fever was a possibility. But other than the thin layer of sweat, she felt herself beginning to cool down. So the dream had been a dream, and nothing more. She laid back down, trying to settle her mind, but nothing could still the flurry of thoughts kicked up by the dream. After another half hour of attempts at dozing, she sighed, got up and pulled on a cardigan. At least this gave her an excuse to work on those shipping orders for her papa.

Raimundo gasped. He had just awoken from a strange dream that seemed all too real. He slowed his breath, trying and failing to process what had just happened. Making no attempt to go back to sleep, he leapt out of bed to grab some Pop-Tarts and get to the computer. He needed to talk to Kimiko.

Omi was not unused to visions. He knew that others had experienced them, and he understood that he might as well. But the dream he had just had did not feel like a vision, like some hazy future event. It felt like he was getting a glimpse into something that was happening right as he slept, beneath the foundation of the mortal plane. And it would have to be dealt with accordingly. He doubted that the other three would be awake at this hour, so instead of trying to contact them he began to meditate on what he had seen. When dawn came he would consult the others.

Clay awoke silently and with little movement, as he always did. He remained still, brain trying to churn past the fog of sleep and crash headlong into the chill of reality. Once he was sure that he was fully awake, he got out of bed and glanced at the grandfather clock at the far end of his bedroom. Three in the morning. Oh, well. He didn't need sleep when he had coffee, and he had research to do.

"Rented out the whole back section-"

"- do you suppose he's doing here?"

"Millionaire-"

"Billionaire, from what I've heard-"

"- _very_ solitary. Not much of a playboy, according to-"

Snippets of conversation caught in the wind and carried to Raimundo, who couldn't help but smile. The people on the pier were discussing his best friend, who had suggested the seaside restaurant as a meeting place. Open tables on a huge beachside pier made up the seating, and the restaurant itself was a small building where the food was made and brought out. No security cameras, no hidden mikes, just a perfect place for the four of them to talk about what they had dreamt. Kimiko had been hesitant to talk about it in the Citadel, and Omi had agreed that maybe meeting in public was the best course of action. So it was on a warm, sunny Friday Raimundo found himself headed for the lone table at the very back of The Pier, a Keystone favorite of his, hands in his pockets and wind carrying him the surprised chatter of those watching him sit across from Clay.

"Clay! How are you?" Raimundo asked, grinning jovially. His attire was a green t-shirt under a fake letterman jacket that took a few years off him, plus cargo shorts and Toms. Clay wore sunglasses and a black jacket, a black muscle shirt, worn blue jeans and a deceptively sturdy pair of cowboy boots that had traversed on roofs as well as streets.

"Just fine, thanks," Clay replied, nodding at the Brazilian. "And yourself?"

"Doing great. Just beat my high score on Super Smash Brothers Brawl III," he replied, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back.

"Aren't you a little old for video games?" The voice made Raimundo's smile grow, and he glanced over at a Japanese woman wearing a bright red blazer and a black pencil skirt, as well as some knee-high boots that hinted at an inner childishness.

"Kimiko! Aren't you a vision," Raimundo said, standing to pull out her chair. "And as for your question, you're never too old for video games. You of all people should know that, running a video game company yourself and all."

Kimiko smiled. "Point taken. Where's Omi?"

"I am here," Omi replied, looking a little sick as he approached them. He clutched his stomach, paler than usual. Even in the street clothes he wore when in public- a navy t-shirt with a golden dragon on it, jeans, a beanie and sneakers- he looked a little off.

"You okay, Omi?" asked Kimiko, concern written all over her face. Omi sat down, sighing in relief and slumping into the chair.

"The driver of my taxi was most… overzealous. I do not like normal transportation, you know."

"Then why have us meet out here?" Raimundo asked, taking a seat again.

"Um, hi." The four turned to see their waitress, a young woman whose nervousness was apparent. "May I take your order?"

"Coffee. Black. An' keep it comin'," Clay said, barely glancing at her.

"One of those big muffins, with all the cinnamon on top, and a Coke," Raimundo said, flashing her a smile.

"I'll have half-caf/decaf non-fat latte, with a shot of chocolate syrup," Kimiko said, kicking Raimundo under the table.

"Just a glass of water, please," Omi said. "Actually, some pancakes as well, if you make them."

"We do," the waitress replied, nerves beginning to calm. "I'll have your orders out in a few minutes." Once she had walked out of hearing distance, Clay turned back to the others and answered Raimundo's previous question.

"Given th' condition of our current situation, Ah think it was best. An' we're all here now, so let's get down to business," Clay said, glancing at each of them in turn with a steely gaze. Even with sunglasses on, each of them could feel his eyes pausing on each Dragon. "The dreams. Ladies first."

"I saw… an inventor, of sorts. A scientist, brilliant, driven, but angry, because he had been wronged. Or at least, he felt like he had. And he was held captive, but he wanted out. And was getting closer to it. I mean, it was all hazy… it wasn't like I could actually see him," Kimiko added. "Rai?"

"I saw an alien. Well, kind of. Like a big face in the cosmos, screaming to be let go. He was furious, and his efforts to escape were screwing with the fundamentals of the universe. What'd you get, Omi?" he asked, glancing at the water elemental.

"In my dream, the being was an ancient deity. He was more a force than a physical being, but he was fettered nonetheless. Though, he was managing to claw his way out when I saw him. And you, Clay?" Everyone turned to their strongest member, who had been silently gauging the dreams as they spoke.

"Ah only saw shadows. But there was a prisoner in 'em, jailed fer his crimes." He fell silent as the waitress approached, delivering their drinks and food. He waited until she was out of earshot again before continuing. "But he'd almost escaped. An' it was an almost that couldn't be stopped."

The four young adults sat in silence, trying to contemplate what their respective dreams meant while finishing off their meals. "Maybe we should check in with DOJO about it?" Raimundo suggested, brushing muffin crumbs from the front of his shirt. "He might have something in his database about all of this."

"DOJO is a logic engine. An Artificial Intelligence, sure, but something like this? I know my way around computers, and no computer- not even DOJO- will figure this out if we can't. Besides, it's supernatural, and even though DOJO has a nose for Wu, he won't be able to really process this," Kimiko replied. Raimundo pouted, but didn't stay too morose.

"Okay. So, until we figure out what the freaky dreams mean…" the Brazillian began.

"… We will continue our daily duties as protectors of Cathedral," Omi finished. "And, for you three, your daily jobs, correct?"

"Speakin' of, Ah got a meetin' at 11. Keep in touch." With that, Clay stood and walked away.

"I wish to return to my meditations," Omi said, nodding. "I wish you both a good day!" He, too, left, leaving Kimiko and Raimundo. He glanced at Kimiko, smiling coyly.

"So… got any other plans for the day?"

Kimiko didn't bother repressing her smile, and pretended to check her phone calendar. "Nope, looks like I'm free."

"Hey, Jack. What's new?" Inque sat in front of an outdated laptop, staring into the web camera attached on top. "Other than getting your butt kicked by the Dragons, of course."

"Shut up, Inque. They've taken you to jail more often than they've gotten me," came the reply. On the other end of the web connection sat a young man clothed in black, with very pale skin and a shock of red hair, matching his eyes.

"Only because I'm the better escape artist. If I wasn't so good at getting out of jail, I wouldn't let them take me so often. But let's get down to business, shall we?"

Jack nodded. "Fine. Friend, foe and foundation. What does that mean?"

"It's easy. They're needed to isolate, define, and then bind the Dragons. Just take something- a special trinket or a meaningful object- from a friend and a foe. The foes can be us, but we'll need to dig deep for that. As for foundation, it's where they began. Something from where they grew up, or a childhood toy. Real foundation, if you can get it, since we're tying them in to Wuya's spell pretty hard. We'll need as much as we can get."

"Hmph. That'll be a lot of digging… computer-wise, I mean. But I can take care of getting the information out to you all if you can get the objects," Jack replied.

Inque nodded. "Excellent. So you'll relay the information to the other two and we can get to work." Jack nodded back, and Inque cut off the connection. Closing the laptop, she swiveled around to Scrawl, who had been watching the exchange. "I'm supposed to be getting the objects for Earthshaker. That'll leave you free to try and get back Krona's egg from the Dragons. If they have him, anyone can take him."

"I still don't get what's so important about this Krona," Scrawl said, crossing his arms. Inque reopened the computer and pulled up a file on Krona, with a picture of the egg they had stolen.

"Krona is an immortal. His lifespan reaches back to the Guardians of the Universe." Scrawl's eyes widened, and Inque nodded. "Big powers at play, here. Krona was a scientist, but he was a little less… moral than others. He was trying to find out the secrets of the Big Bang- how everything began. In doing so, he killed off a bunch of galaxies, several races, bad stuff. Since they couldn't kill him, the other Guardians took away his physical form. Banished him to wander the universe forever. And since he's immortal, forever's a long, long time.

"So Krona, a comet now, watches civilizations grow, rise, die, and do it over and over again. He wanted the secret to creation, but all he's getting is death, over and over again. Obviously, he was bored. So he got out- I still don't know how, just that he did- and he continued trying to figure out the secret of creation. Now, Green Lantern Hal Jordan stopped him the first time-"

"_First_ time?"

"Oh yeah. He kept working, kept trying to figure out what it was that made the universe tick. He escaped countless times, always working, searching for answers that weren't there. Then he finally got it. Each universe is alive."

"Each?"

"Hush, I'm telling a story. Anyway, yeah, there's more than ours. But right as he figured it out, he was torn from the universe. The League was there, along with… others. After his revelation, the closest he'd ever gotten to getting to the secrets of the universe was there. But he didn't. At least, not all the way. They managed to trap him in a cosmic egg, (which is what the Heylin had us steal.) The idea is that it will grow into a universe, he'll get to watch it being born, and all his questions will be answered. However, the JLA was supposed to have it by now, so the Dragons taking it impedes our progress. We're funneling crap readings through their security, which we can only do for so long."

Scrawl nodded. "Huh. So, if this falls into the wrong hands- which, I guess, are Chase and Wuya's hands- they could do… what with it?"

Inque facepalmed and Scrawl winced. She spoke again, this time slowly, like she was explaining something to a simpleton. "Wuya is a witch, right?" Scrawl nodded. "Right. So if she can, say, use a spell to sap Krona's power into her and Chase, then what?"

"Then… they… get rich?" he asked.

"Exactly," Inque said, nodding. "Rich and powerful. World-domination powerful. And as much as I'd like a cut of that, they'll kill too many people."

"I thought you didn't care about people dying?" Scrawl said, crossing his arms.

Inque was quiet for a moment before replying. "… No. I don't. Of course I don't."

"So why aren't you telling anybody the truth?" Scrawl asked.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." She turned back to the laptop, opening another link. "I'll tell Young we've spread the word. And then we move on to phase one."

**Please review!**


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